BEACHON-RoMBAS

This page is a means of communication and repository of information for the upcoming biogenic aerosol field study at the Manitou Experimental Forest Observatory near Colorado Springs, CO, in Summer 2011.

Scientific Objectives

BEACHON-RoMBAS is a component of the overall BEACHON project and stands for "Bio-hydro-atmosphere interactions of Energy, Aerosols, Carbon, H2O, Organics & Nitrogen - Rocky Mountain Biogenic Aerosol Study." The scientific foci of the BEACHON-RoMBAS field experiment include the emissions of primary biological particles (PBAP) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors, and their transformations and impacts in the atmosphere. An important angle is the evaluation of the importance of water availability in those emissions, transformations, and impacts.

A List of Instrumentation including power and space needs has been compiled. (If you want to participate or add instrumentation which is not currently listed, please let us know). We have recently recruited two PBAP instruments from Europe as well as other collaborators on SOA and other measurements.

As a reference, the list of instrumentation for the BEACHON-ROCS-2010 field study is here.

Logistics During the Campaign

Real-Time Data and Model Output

The links "MET data" and "Chemistry Tower" go to real-time plots of the met data (from a small met station at the top of the tower and winds from the sonic anemometer) and some chemical species (O3, SO2, etc.) for the past few days. These are not "final" concentrations - they are just ones we calculated using some reasonable estimates of calibration coefficients (and some include calibration periods), but they give a good relative measure of what's happening.

Information on historic met/gas observations including diurnal cycles and wind roses can be found on the logistics page (see link above).

Data Policy

From previous experience, it is important to share data early to identify instrument problems, early findings etc. We would like to propose the following data policy, which is based on that from MILAGRO, CalNex and other large field campaigns. Please let us know of any suggestions for changes etc.

(a) Data will be shared during the field phase as soon as it is available (if possible the next day after it is taken for continuous instruments). An FTP site has been set up by NCAR for this purpose (see logistics page for details on formatting/datastatus/upload/download here). This is done with the understanding that data is not fully calibrated/corrected/etc., and its main use is to look at trends and start to identify patterns and correlations. Field data from other groups can only be used by people participating in the campaign, and CANNOT be shown or shared with people outside the campaign unless you have the permission of the data owners.

(b) Data should also be made available to all participants during the data analysis phase. Data from other groups cannot be used in presentations or publications without the permission of the data owners, and coauthorship should be offered to the data producers (which are then free to accept or decline the offer).

Acknowledgements: the BEACHON-RoMBAS campaign is partially supported by an ETBC grant to NCAR, the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, and Penn State University (NSF ATM-0919189)

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